RECENT POSTS
Thank You Coach
Many of us have had a coach that meant more to us than just sports. A person that reached us on a level deeper than the playing surface. Some of us have had a coach that served as a mentor, and an example. Someone to look up to. Someone who gave us lessons that have...
The Devil of Mediocrity
Is Failure the best Teacher? Perhaps. Is a Fear of Failure motivating? I certainly think so. But for me, the devil is in mediocrity. Mediocrity is what wakes me up at night. It's what stirs the emotion of regret. It's what makes my blood boil so often when...
Thanks, Brigman
It’s hard to know exactly where to start. What to think. What to say. What to do. When your parent dies. We focus on those around us. We focus on ‘arrangements’. We focus on taking care of the business required to manage their passing. And I suppose that’s a good...
The Lost Village of Discoursia
I recently had the privilege of going to Iceland with family. A beautiful country, and a wonderful trip...all around. We admired the sea, the mountains, waterfalls, wildlife, and of course the aurora borealis. We even visited the Leggestein Stone, where my...
Jed: Oil Tycoon and Green Energy Advocate
Today's political debates around fossil fuels and green energy remind me of a story about my friend, a man named Jed. Jed was born and raised in West Virginia...some called him a genuine Mountaineer. He grew up poor, and as an adult, he could barely keep his family...
What Gives Us This Light
What gives us this lightFrom beyond or from within?What’s lost is foundWhat’s given is gone Travails and triumphsIn an instant they blurThey fade in the light of what matters mostAnd they become a part of what matters least All that we’ve sought is condensed to a...
Time Flies
We know it flies.We see that it flies.We comment that it flies.We marvel that it flies.We lament that it flies.When, oh when, will we realize? That the magic lies when we recognizeAll of the incredible opportunities ...To evangelize To the old and the sage, the...
The Rain Song
They say that the pen is mightier than the sword. And I agree, with all that I am. Words have survived the millennia of our race. They’ve survived natural disaster, war and conflict, the rise and fall of kingdoms, and the suppression of the most powerful. They...
It’s Not Business, It’s Strictly Personal
For many years I've struggled with my weight. Confronted at every turn by the modern image of the perfect male shape, and reminded by every mirror of my subcutaneous shortcomings. Kidding. Yes, I'm self conscious of my love handles...and I fluctuate between feeling...
Three Things that will get you Ripped, Fast
For many years I've struggled with my weight. Confronted at every turn by the modern image of the perfect male shape, and reminded by every mirror of my subcutaneous shortcomings. Kidding. Yes, I'm self conscious of my love handles...and I fluctuate between feeling...
My Dog is Shrinking
In January, our family welcomed Benji... an F1b Saint Berdoodle. (they're awesome, look 'em up) And since then, Benji has grown. And grown. And grown. He's now approaching 5 months old and just passed the 40 pound mark. He's a fun, smart, laid back dog. He's...
Fortunate are the Few
Fortunate are the fewWho may look upon this world with new eyesEach day a renewalA feast of non-assumptionAn ascension to nowhereA burdenless view of the trappings we’ve set Fortunate are the fewWho may speak to this world with a soft but piercing tongueEach...
A Why’s Man Once Said… Call me Doctor.
Had a chance recently to catch up with Dr. Theodor Geisel... really interesting guy. Found out a few things: 1. He and I share a fascination with our mind's authority. What I mean is...it is most often our own mind, not some external force, that singularly...
My Friend, Don
While I could make the argument that every day brings us a reason to take pause, and to be grateful for the blessings in our life...the truth is, it usually takes a reminder (often grim) to make this sentiment resonate. I was recently asked to say a few words, in the...
Thumbs of Steel
My grandfather, Elbert, was deaf and mute his entire life. Couldn't hear a damn thing, and couldn't speak. He could only make some noises, more grunts really...which changed in pitch, depending on his emotion or intent. Papa, as I called him, picked up his family (a...
If the Devil is in the Details, Where are All the Angels?
When this phrase, which I’ve said thousands of times, popped in my head this morning...it took on more than its normal meaning. Typically, I would use this phrase (as I assume would most of you) to describe, or even prescribe, a warning that mistakes are often made by...
Look Mom, Ze Plane
I have a semi-vivid, age-warped, nostalgic memory from approximately 1977 that flashes before me every now and then, and depending on the mood I’m in…evokes a wide range of emotion from curious to calm, and from melancholy to joy. The memory is that of a childhood...
The Infrequency of Justice
As I was growing up, I knew a man who stood for, and in fact fought for…Truth, Justice and the American Way. I mean, this guy was super. He had super-human strength, X-ray vision, and he could fly! He couldn’t lie, and he loved his mama. Heck, as I recall, he even...
Please Don’t Squeeze Your Naked Grandma
Several years ago, the university that I attended attempted a ‘rebrand’...and spent months (and I’m sure quite a bit of our funds) coming up with a new logo. Bam!...the new logo was revealed. It was placed all over campus. It was celebrated and accompanied by a...
I Have Become Death
Robert Oppenheimer paraphrased these famous words in 1945, after witnessing the result of his creation… the atomic weapon. It was a breakthrough that he felt was necessary to save our world, but one that he later actually regretted. It would seem that it (his...
Big Rules for Small People
I'm a believer in the written word. I'm a believer in the spoken truth, (especially when spoken to ourselves). And I'm a believer in the neuroplasticity of the young minds of my children. Something I've been working on for quite some time. Some BIG rules, for the...
Resolution. Repetition. Revolution.
2020. Almost Over. Can you feel it? Right? Like most of you, I'm looking ahead. To the horizon, to the new year, to the promise of 'normal', and to the opportunity for growth. Don't get me wrong, I haven't left 2020 just yet. Because despite the wide range of...
The Art of Living
Today, I cried. Shakespeare once said that to weep...is "to make less the depth of grief." But my tears were not of grief. Instead, they were the oft familiar yet mysterious response to... art. In this case, the art of music. I describe it as "familiar", confident...
It’s Just Friday
Today I woke up with the intention of moving my body. With the intention of embracing the day, versus reacting to the day. So...I hopped on the rower. A grand machine, really. A total body workout, without an ounce of pressure on these middle aged joints. I rowed....
The Significance of SkyMall
"I will act now. Success will not wait. If I delay, success will become wed to another and lost to me forever. This is the time. This is the place. I am the person." - Og Mandino Remember those motivational posters that used to be so popular? The ones you saw...
The Curious Case of Dogshit Buttons
Sometimes a story can only be given justice if laid out in the form of a dialogue. Collin: “Dad, did you hear about Grandma’s button?” Dad: “Nope.” Collin: “Pepper (the new puppy) bit it off her sweater while she was holding her.” Dad: “Oh...OK” Collin: “And the next...
The Profound Purpose of the Perfect Pancake
Do you really love Papa John’s pizza? Or do you love that garlic-butter dipping sauce? Do you really love shrimp or shellfish? Or do you love dipping it in that warm butter? Do you really love ‘salad’? Or do you love smothering that lettuce in ranch dressing, and...
The Wisdom of Teddy Bears
I got an email from a customer last week that really tested my patience. Actually...he was already wearing that patience thin, this email was just "piling on". The part that was really getting to me was his arrogance, his ego. He consistently refused to take...
Observe & Chase (is not a law firm)
Yesterday I saw a commercial for a new movie coming out. The commercial displayed quotes from various magazines and film critics. Quotes like this: "Movie X is mildly entertaining" "An average performance and no award nominations for Actor Y" "You should consider...
This Morning I Shaved With Occam’s Razor
This morning as I walked into the family room (an addition to the back of the home), cup of coffee in my hand, looking through the windows and watching the natural world ‘wake up’...I heard a “crack”...or perhaps it was more of a “snap”. What scenario is more...